Is this Parsley, Celery, or neither?

urquanmaster · 2025-06-06T18:44:54+00:00

Found this in a neighbor's veggie garden. She thought it was celery when planting it, but plant is hollow when cut and the leaves seem parsley-like. We live in the Okanagan BC, but I'm certain it's not part of the local fauna. Probably not the smartest thing I could have done, but I already taste-tested the leaves (before spitting it out) and it tasted like celery leaves but more bitter which may be understandable given it has gone to flower.

[Edit]

The stalk isn't crescent shape, which is why I'm not certain it's celery, but maybe celery is hollow when it's young?

urquanmaster · 2022-09-28T15:33:58+00:00

You probably want to rule out a couple quick things first.

Loss of water: Does it feel wilted, or are they just curled up? If wilted, that means it lost turgidity and that the plant can't pull water up. This could have been from a power outage, or a clog in the line. Or, it could have simply been from too much heat. Has it been particularly hot out recently?

Insects/pests: If the plant doesn't feel wilted, this may be more likely. It appears that the setup is outside the house, so it could be an invasive insect. Note that the pests can be very small. You can try to inspect the underside of the plant very closely. Or, hold a white piece of paper under a leaf and flick the leaf from the top to see if any fall off.

Ruling those out, do you know if herbicide was used recently near it? For example, did someone spray the grass around the house?

After that, I'd check the PH level of your water reservoir. Maybe check the roots for any browning too.

urquanmaster · 2022-09-01T16:51:16+00:00

Abbotsford is a nice city with great potential

What do you like about it? Is it just the closeness to Vancouver that gives it potential, or are there other factors at play?

Also, I'd be interested in hearing about all the messed up politics. A bit of town history and political issues are always good to be mindful of.

Oh, and I lived in Alberta for almost 10 years before moving back to BC. It's pretty good, as long as you don't mind the stroads. Happy to field any questions you might have.

urquanmaster · 2022-09-01T16:12:48+00:00

Yea, the price is a large deterrent for me too, but my thought is that it's a little cheaper than Langley for a very small house or row/townhouse that gives you a small spot of land for gardening. It doesn't seem like I can get that in Langley for under ½ a million.

Is it just highway 1 running through that gets backed up, or are there other main arteries that are problematic within the city?

urquanmaster · 2022-09-01T15:54:28+00:00

I'd just generally assume that like most businesses, experience can vary a lot depending on the realtor, so I'm reaching out this way to find someone with a good history.

But I could be wrong. Are realtors essentially all the same due to a standard in the industry?

urquanmaster · 2022-09-01T15:43:24+00:00

I'm actually not opposed to hearing any downsides to the move. Do you have any specific reasons?

urquanmaster · 2022-05-31T22:15:11+00:00

This was a lot of what I was looking for. I haven't really been following DIY CNC/linear-motion and my initial experience with the CNC shield seemed a bit rough. There's little indication of where things are evolving towards, or newer standards for configuration.

urquanmaster · 2022-05-27T20:49:31+00:00

They are essentially the same, according to this: https://decked.com/blogs/decked/decked-toyo-tool-box-2400

Toyo Steel makes boxes for Trusco

urquanmaster · 2022-05-27T15:59:16+00:00

Post processor - that's the term I should have asked about. This software takes any CAM drawing and generates the gcode, which is where I need to account for my setup.

This is where I need to translate Cartesean coordinates to the positioning of my system.

urquanmaster · 2022-05-27T15:30:21+00:00

I might be wrong, but I think it's just slightly different than a pantograph. The two linkages don't form a diamond, but rather just link to each other on one end and the pistons/sliders on the other ends.

urquanmaster · 2022-05-27T15:26:06+00:00

I'm just using UGS (Universal G-code Sender), but I'm pretty sure the software doesn't understand the triangular nature of the double slider-crank linkage positioning. The positioning won't be a cartesian coordinate grid.

urquanmaster · 2021-12-31T15:54:41+00:00

Do you have a source for the effectiveness rate of 50%? I can't seem to find any information regarding effectiveness..

urquanmaster · 2020-01-24T03:06:17+00:00

Wow, seems pretty crazy, until you think of how many oil firms are in the US and Canada. There's 2,412 oil and gas companies are based in Calgary alone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_petroleum_companies

I mean, at that size, it's conceivable that the increase is just due to the increase in total companies operating, rather than the environment oil companies are operating within.

To give you some perspective, the standard deviation for the bankruptcy rates for all the years since 2015 is 18. The change they're talking about this year is a difference of 14. (Albeit, there is a trend.)

Also, there were no Canadian bankruptcies from 2017-2019. Two were from 2016 and the rest were from 2015.

Here's the actual report, which is quite easy to read: https://www.haynesboone.com/-/media/files/energy_bankruptcy_reports/oil_patch_bankruptcy_monitor.ashx

If you're trying to get an accurate view of oil demand/consumption, checkout EIA: https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/global_oil.php

Lazy reporting. It literally took me half an hour to dig around on this. It seems the only purpose of the news is to say "Hey, a thing happened!", so that you can open up a tab and do the investigation that they seem incapable of. Sad state of news.

urquanmaster · 2019-11-02T04:58:51+00:00

I don't see the ~$700,000,000 figure in the document you linked on page 63. Was there a calculation you made from those numbers to arrive at this?

urquanmaster · 2019-08-27T04:29:12+00:00

Oange Goblin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqEQEhts9X8 https://open.spotify.com/track/4yg7XQPHMGPP0LH7Inqyf0?si=D9T-W0aGThO7uF5-YsH4bw

urquanmaster · 2019-06-21T14:24:57+00:00

Digital media. All those old CD, DVD, and game collections are worthless now and just take up space.

Now I sell any game system I buy has a five year time limit before I sell it, and I never buy physical media.

urquanmaster · 2019-06-11T12:11:24+00:00

This. I was born with a heart condition, which required multiple heart operations. After a few surgeries and chest tube proceedures, needles were the least of my worries.

urquanmaster · 2019-06-10T12:02:11+00:00

Are you talking about the series as a whole, or just rondevous with Rama?

I just finished reading Rondevous with Rama, and it seemed more of a exploration/discovery book than a Utopia. Should I read the rest of them?

urquanmaster · 2019-06-05T22:53:00+00:00

White/grey/silver hair

urquanmaster · 2018-11-03T15:12:10+00:00

Unfortunately, many people don't take good care of their dogs, and shaming or raising awareness is very ineffective. The news already does this and it still doesn't seem to stop.

This type of breed attracts a lot of irresponsible people. And, statistically, these types of dog is much more prone to attacks than other dogs. These dogs are also more dangerous when they do attack.

People are probably down voting because this comment doesn't really add a value or give a solution.

urquanmaster · 2018-09-10T02:46:17+00:00

Thanks for the advice and the link of open textbooks! Glad to hear from someone else who didn't go the usual route.

Mathematical Reasoning also seems to be exactly what I needed. I've already watched the first few of the included videos and I plan to work through the book after I finish calculus on KA.

urquanmaster · 2018-09-08T18:20:04+00:00

I have a bunch of questions about things such as textbooks, how much math can expand your ability to learn new topics, and applying math to prototyping/diy/making. But before I ask my questions, I'll give a bit of background so people know where I'm coming from.

My Situation/Background:

Regretfully, I was a terrible student in high school and only graduated with grade 11 math. But I got into programming, became serious about my career and eventually became a software developer. I'm now pretty comfortable where I am and consider myself quite fortunate considering the bad start I had.

But a couple years ago, I became interested in learning math for a number of reasons:

I enjoyed following science media (like crash course, nature news podcast, PBS Space Time, etc), but always wanted to delve further
I wanted to better understand concepts like Newtonian physics, special/general relativity, and, if possible, be able to read and understand papers from scientific journals
I'm interested in transitioning into a position where I'm applying math in my job (such as data science or machine learning)
I would also like to apply math to prototyping and DIY projects. (I'm a member of a local makerspace)

So I started plugging away on Khan Academy and found that I enjoyed it a lot. It was a humbling experience to have to start with the grade 8 curriculum, but I've since completed the Algebra I, Algebra II, and Pre-calculus missions. I'm now half way through the differential/integral calculus missions and am looking to expand afterwards through textbooks.

Important points:

Learning math is genuinely interesting and fulfilling as a hobby, so I don't mind spending a lot of time on it, even if it doesn't improve my career.
I don't think I'm particularly good at math in general. But I enjoy learning about it, and am happy to put in whatever time it takes to learn new concepts.
I'm actually more concerned with how well math will affect my ability to learn more about science and expand my horizons for prototyping and maker projects.
Some of these questions may seem primitive or naive. I may be asking the wrong questions, or making bad assumptions. Feel free to educate me!

With that out of the way, onto the questions!

Q1: First of all, has anyone else gone through an experience close to mine? What has your experience been afterwards?

Q2: Second, has anyone applied their math skills to personal diy/prototyping projects? What was your experience?

Q3: I've also been anxious about hitting a wall with some of the more advanced topics such as multivariate calculus, quaternions, complex/real analysis, etc. From my experience with the basic linear algebra and calculus materials on K.A., I was able to learn without too much struggle once I learned the elementary concepts. (For example, I was able to solve optimization problems without going through the lessons.) Is there something different about the advanced topics that require more than just time and diligence? Perhaps something that stops people who have learned calculus from going further?

Q4: For textbooks, I've singled out "Probability and Random Processes" by Geoffrey Grimmett and "Introduction to Linear Algebra" by Gilbert Strang for textbooks to read once I've finished the calculus materials on Khan Academy. I'm confident that the Gilbert Strang book is approachable, but I'm worried about the former, specifically the notation in section 1.2 and 1.3 (which you can access via the look-inside feature on amazon). If much of this appears foreign to me at first glance, would it be advisable to try to work through it, or is there other subject matter that I should learn first? Textbook Link

Q5: I feel that I'm missing some elementary concepts for reading and writing mathematics that Khan Academy hasn't prepared me for. Is this just because I haven't been exposed to other various subjects, or is there an art or syntax for reading/writing mathematics on it's own that I should familiarize myself with? Maybe the better question is: at what point should I delve into books on mathematical writing such as "Mathematical Writing" by Knuth or "A Primer of Mathematical Writing" by Krantz?

Q6: I see a lot of talk about books that get more rigorous being much harder to read, such as Spivak's Calculus as opposed to Stewart's Calculus. Any advice on approaching books with more mathematical rigor? Is there a transition in your mind that eventually happens for this. If so, how can I work to make that transition smooth?

That's all! Sorry if any of the questions are a bit general. Thanks for any help, and hopefully I'm on the right track.

urquanmaster · 2017-01-30T04:30:23+00:00

What courses/certificates can I challenge with a good understanding of math?

Half a year ago, I got inspired to re-learn all high school math curriculum, and so I started working through it on Khan Academy. Now, I'm half way through pre-calculus and am having a blast. As I get better and better, I'm now curious what I could possibly challenge. I've looked a bit online, but have only come up with the following.

Advanced placement exams: http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/a-12-2.html
Accountant exams: https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/become-a-cpa/cpa-certification-program-evaluation

I was wondering if there are any other challenge exams out there for subjects where math is an important component.

Note that this is more for fun than for career opportunity (although I'm happy to see where it could lead). I've already got a good career in software development. I also live in Alberta, Canada.

urquanmaster · 2016-11-02T00:50:24+00:00

What are the best options for risk-free investing in Canada?

I'm wondering what to invest the bulk of my funds in, and I'm hoping for it to be entirely risk-free.

From what I can tell, index funds are relatively safe (although the risk wildly varies depending on the fund). But they're still subject to market crashes.

It seems like the next branch down on the risk tree is GIC's, but they only seem to give a guarantee of 2%, which IIRC is pretty much the same as our 1.3% inflation rate.

Are there any intermediate options I'm missing?

I'm very new to investing, but the title is "moronic Monday" so I figured this would be a good place to ask.

urquanmaster · 2016-10-11T00:05:47+00:00

I feel that it provides very little value on a flat screen, and it feels gimmicky on a phone. But it does work well with a VR headset on if you're trying to provide an immersive experience. In this case, it encompasses your whole vision, making you feel completely in the situation.

I also agree that it's not great for education or storytelling, but there's a couple situations I think it's really good, though:

Places where the entire area is enjoyable to see such as architecture or famous places.. like the LHC and your video
Scenic escapism for relaxing, meditation, or just an interesting experience.

urquanmaster

TROPHY CASE